Shoelace tying device

ABSTRACT

A shoelace tying apparatus allows individuals with limited or no use of one hand to tightly tie footwear with standard shoelaces. The apparatus is lightweight and portable. The apparatus alleviates the need for special shoelaces or shoes, such as those equipped with hook-and-loop fasteners.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a shoelace tying device to assist auser with limited hand dexterity in forming a knot in a shoelace.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Shoelace tying is a daily activity that can be particularly difficultfor people with limited fine motor hand skills. For instance,individuals stricken with birth defects, amputations, strokes, andarthritis can find shoelace tying difficult if not impossible. Suchindividuals are thus forced to seek the assistance of a care provider orto wear shoes that use hook-and-loop fasteners, e.g., Velcro strips, orshoes outfitted with specially made shoelaces that do not need to betied in a conventional manner to secure the shoe around the individual'sfoot. Such specially made shoes and shoes outfitted with Velcro stripshowever are not always ideal.

For example, a tieless elastic shoelace has been proposed that hasplastic disks at each end of the shoelace. The plastic disks aretemporarily removed to allow the shoelace to be threaded through theeyelets of the shoe. Once the shoelace is threaded, the disks aresecured to the ends of the shoelace and are operative as a stop toprevent the ends of the shoelace from being pulled back through thefirst eyelets. With such a configuration, the shoelace sets a maximum ofthe opening formed between the tongue and the counter of the shoe intowhich the individual can slip the foot into the shoe; however, theshoelace cannot be effectively tightened to snug the shoe around thefoot. In this regard, the shoe may not provide the necessary support forthe foot and ankle that is needed for athletic activity, such aswalking. Another drawback of such special shoelaces is that the originalshoelaces that come with the shoes must be removed and replaced, whichcan be difficult for an individual with limited fine motor skills in oneor both hands.

Velcro strips, or other hook-and-loop fasteners, are effective inproviding a snug fit of the shoe around the foot. However, shoesequipped with such fasteners are generally not visually appealing andthus are typically not preferred for formal wear or business attire. Theindividual must then either wear a conventional shoe and seek assistancein tying the shoelaces or wear the unsightly hook-and-loop fastener shoethat can negatively impact the individual's esteem and confidence.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a shoelace tying apparatus designedto aid individuals with limited or no use of one hand to tightly tiefootwear with standard shoelaces. The apparatus is lightweight andportable. In addition, the apparatus alleviates the need for specialshoelaces or shoes, such as those equipped with hook-and-loop fasteners.

The apparatus is generally comprised of a stand and a tying device. Thestand includes a stand base, a stand arm, a collet, and a tyingplatform. The stand arm extends upwardly from the base and has a seriesof vertically spaced notches to which the collet may be selectivelysecured to accommodate various shoe types and sizes. The tying device issecured to the collet and thus the spacing between the tying device andthe stand base may be adjusted by repositioning the collet on the standarm. The tying device generally includes a pair of hooks, a rack andpinion system, anchor points, and cleats. Once the tying device issecured at a desired height relative to the stand arm, a user may wrapthe ends of the shoelace around the anchor points and the hooks and thenpull the ends through the cleats to secure the ends to the tying device.The hooks are connected to the rack and pinion system such that movementof one hook automatically causes an equal, but opposite movement of theother hook. Through a series of movements of the free ends of theshoelace and the hooks, which can be performed by an individual withlimited dexterity, the shoelace can be tied to a user defined tightnessand thus provide a snug fit of the shoe around the foot.

The shoelace tying procedure is summarized below:

A. Place shoe on stand base beneath tying device and adjust height oftying device as needed;

B. Push one of the hooks inwardly toward the center of the tying device;

C. Manually tie slip knot by pulling free ends of the lace down andoutward through cleats;

D. Release shoelace from right cleat;

E. Wrap that free end of the shoelace around the right anchor point fromfront to back;

F. Pull that free end of the shoelace down through the left hook andthen toward the front of the tying device, under the right hook;

G. Pull that free end of the shoelace again down through the rightcleat;

H. Release the free end of the shoelace from the left cleat;

I. Slide that free end of the shoelace toward the back of the tyingdevice, under all hooks and anchor points;

J. Wrap that free end of the shoelace around the left anchor point fromback to front

K. Pull that free end of the shoelace down through the right hook;

L. Pull that free end of the shoelace down through the left cleat;

M. Pull outward on one of the hooks until a knot with a desiredtightness is formed;

N. Release free ends from the cleats;

O. Push inward on one of the hooks to reset the hooks to their originalposition; and

P. Remove shoelace from hooks.

It will thus be appreciated that the present invention provides ashoelace tying apparatus that assists an individual with tying ashoelace to a desired tightness. The shoelace tying apparatus may beused with a shoe and its original laces thereby avoiding the need forreplacement laces. The apparatus can tie the laces of athletic shoes,dress shoes, formal shoes, laced boots, and the like.

It is therefore an object of the invention to assist an individual withlimited dexterity with tying the laces of a shoe to provide a snug fitthat is suitable for athletic activity, such as walking.

It is another object of the invention to provide a shoelace tying devicethat is workable with conventional shoelaces.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a shoelace tyingdevice of lightweight and rugged construction.

Therefore, in accordance with one aspect of the invention, a shoelacetying apparatus includes a shoe platform, an arm extending from the shoeplatform, and a tying platform connected to the arm and spaced from theshoe platform to define a shoe reception area. The apparatus furtherincludes a pair of reciprocating hooks, anchors, and a pair of lace endretainers supported by the tying platform. Through a series ofpredefined movements of securing the lace ends to the lace endretainers, anchoring the lace about the anchors, and moving the hooks, adouble-loop knot is formed in the shoelace.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a shoe tying deviceincludes a first anchor and a second anchor, wherein the first anchor isconfigured to secure a first free end of a shoelace and the secondanchor is configured to secure a second free end of the shoelace. Thedevice also includes a first loop forming element and a second loopforming element that are linked with a rack and pinion arrangementincluding a first rack connected to the first loop forming element and asecond rack connected to the second loop forming element. The rack andpinion arrangement is constructed such that rotation of the rack inducedby lateral movement of one loop forming element causes equal andopposite lateral movement of the other loop forming element. Moreover,movement of the loop forming elements from a first position to a secondposition causes a pulling force to be applied to both free ends of theshoelace such that a first loop is formed in the first free end of theshoelace and a second loop is formed in the second free end of theshoelace with a knot formed between the loops.

According to another aspect of the invention, a knot tying apparatus forforming a double-loop knot when presented with a slip knot is disclosed.The apparatus includes a pair of reciprocating hooks adapted to holdrespective free ends of a shoelace in which the slip knot has beenformed. A rack and pinion arrangement is connected to the pair ofreciprocating hooks and is configured to cause movement of one of thepair of reciprocating hooks in response to movement of the other one ofthe pair of reciprocating hooks. The apparatus further has a pair ofretainers configured to securely hold the free ends of the shoelace suchthat a knot is formed in the shoelace as the reciprocating hooks aremoved away from one another.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription and accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however,that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicatingpreferred embodiments of the present invention, are given by way ofillustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications maybe made within the scope of the present invention without departing fromthe spirit thereof, and the invention includes all such modifications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings in which like reference numerals represent likeparts throughout.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top isometric view of a shoelace tying apparatus accordingto one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the shoelace tying apparatus of FIG.1 shown relative to a shoe having a shoelace to be tied;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the shoelace tying apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the shoelace tying apparatus of FIG. 1 with agear cover removed exposing a rack and pinion gear arrangement;

FIG. 5 is a section view of the shoelace tying apparatus taken alongline 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a top view of the shoelace tying apparatus with the gear coverremoved and positioned at an initial position for tying the shoelace ofa shoe shown in a shoe tying position;

FIG. 7 is a top view of the shoelace tying apparatus with the free endsof the shoelace shown secured to a pair of retainers;

FIG. 8 is a top view of the shoelace tying apparatus with the one end ofthe shoelace held by a loop forming element and an anchor;

FIG. 9 is a top view of the shoelace tying apparatus with the other endof the shoelace held by a loop forming element and an anchor;

FIG. 10 is a top view of the shoelace tying apparatus after somemovement of the loop forming elements away from one another to beginformation of a pair of loops in the shoelace;

FIG. 11 is a top view of the shoelace tying apparatus with loops formedin the shoelace;

FIG. 12 is a top view of the shoelace tying apparatus with limitedreversing of the loop forming elements to allow the loops to be releasedfrom the loop forming elements; and

FIG. 13 is a top view of the shoe with a double-loop knot made thereinusing the shoelace tying apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 through 12.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Turning now to FIGS. 1 through 5, a shoelace tying apparatus 10according to one embodiment of the invention is shown. The shoelacetying apparatus 10 may be used to tie shoelaces of an athletic shoe,casual shoe, dress shoe, laced boot, and other types of shoes havingconventional shoelaces. The apparatus 10 generally includes a base 12and a tying platform 14 held above the base 12 by a stand arm 16. Acollet 18 is used to retain the tying platform 14 against the stand arm16. The stand arm 16 includes a series of notches 20 defined along itslength. The collet 18 includes rocker clamps 22 that allow the collet 18to be positioned at any one of the notches 20 to thus allow a user tovary the distance between the tying platform 14 and the base 12. Therocker clamps 22 have teeth (not shown) that are received in notches 20of the stand arm 16 to lock the collet 18 and thus the tying platform 14at a user-desired position on the stand arm 16. This space between thetying platform 14 and the base 12 generally defines a shoe receptionarea 24. A handle 26 is connected to the collet 18 to assist in movingthe collet 18 along the stand arm 16. In a preferred embodiment, thebase 12 includes a pair of slip resistant strips 28, 30.

The tying platform 14 also includes a shoelace tying device 32 thatgenerally includes hooks 34, 36, cleats 38, 40, anchors 42, 44 and arack and pinion gear arrangement 46. The gear arrangement 46 includes apair of racks 48, 50 spaced from one another and driven by a pinion 52.The pinion 52 and the interfacing of the pinion 52 with the racks 48, 50sits beneath a gear cover 54. The anchors 42, 44 are mounted to thetying platform 14 by spring loaded pins 56, 58, respectively, that allowthe anchors 42, 44 to pivot during knot formation. The anchors 42, 44also have upwardly extending anchor pins 60, 62, respectively. As willbe described, the free ends of a shoelace are held against the anchorpins 60, 62 during the shoelace typing process.

The cleats 38, 40 are designed such that the shoelace may only be pulledout of the cleats 38, 40 in one direction. As such, as a knot is beingtied, which will be described in greater detail below, the cleats 38, 40maintain tension on the shoelace. Once the knot is completed, the freeends of the shoelace may be pulled from the cleats 38, 40 opposite tothe direction of loading to free the shoelace from the cleats 38, 40. Ina preferred embodiment, the cleats are oriented at a 20 degree anglefrom the plane of the tying platform 14 and at a 30 degree angle fromthe front of the tying platform 14. In addition, it is preferred thatthe cleats are slightly recessed or sunken into the platform 14 to avoidcontact with the hooks 34, 36 as the hooks 34, 36 are moved.

The shoelace tying apparatus 10 preferably includes an extension arm 64that can be magnetically coupled to the stand arm 16 to effectivelylengthen the stand arm 16 and increase the number of elevation points atwhich the tying platform 14 can be positioned. In one preferredembodiment, the extension arm 64 has a plug 65 that is received by anopening formed in the stand arm 16.

Hook 34 is connected to rack 48 by a connecting member 66 that includesa pull handle 68. Similarly, hook 36 is connected to rack 50 by aconnecting member 70 that also has a pull handle 72. The connection ofthe hooks 34, 36 with respective racks 48, 50 of the rack and pinionarrangement 46 allows a user to move the hooks 34, 36 in unison, but inopposite directions by pulling or pushing on only one of the handles 68,72. That is, the pinion 52 drives both racks 48, 50 to move equally butin opposite directions which in turn causes the hooks 34, 36 to moveequally but in opposite directions. The racks 48, 50 are carried byrespective slide bars 74, 76 that allow the racks 48, 50 to sliderelatively freely along respective linear axes. Preferably, the slidebars 74, 76 are comprised of a material that allows the slide bars 74,76 to slide along the platform 14 without the need for additionallubricant or oil.

With particular reference to FIG. 3, the rocker clamps 22 are springloaded which allows a user to squeeze ends 22 a of the clamps 22 towardone another to disengage the teeth 22 b of the clamps 22 from the standarm 16 (or extension arm 64, if applicable) and thus release the collet18 from the stand arm 16. While holding handle 26, the user may thenslide the collet 18 along the stand arm 16 to a desired position toaccommodate the user and the size of the shoe, S, to be loaded into theshoe reception area 24.

Operation of the shoelace tying apparatus 10 to form a knot in theshoelace 78 of a shoe S will be described with respect to FIGS. 6through 12. As will be readily appreciated, the shoelace tying apparatus10 is operative to form a conventional knot 80 in shoelace 78 of shoe Sas shown in FIG. 13. For purposes of explaining the knot formingprocess, it will be assumed that the user has set the tying platform 14to a desired height relative to the stand arm 16 as described above.

Referring now to FIG. 6, the shoelace tying apparatus 10 is designed toform a knot in a shoelace 78; however, the shoelace 78 must be presentedwith a slipknot 82 formed therein. In this regard, the shoelace tyingapparatus 10 is best suited for a user with full use of at least onehand or sufficient dexterity in one hand to form such a slipknot 82. Theshoelace tying device 32 must also be set at an initial position whichis shown in FIG. 6. In the initial position, the handles 68, 72 arepushed fully toward one another. This is achieved by pushing one of thehandles 68, 72 inwardly toward the center of the platform 14, e.g.,toward pinion 52. The rack and pinion arrangement 46 described aboveautomatically causes the other rack 48 or 50 to move in the oppositedirection. As such, both hooks 34, 36 can be positioned at the initialposition by pushing on only one of the handles 68 or 72. With theslipknot 82 formed in the shoelace 78, the shoe S is presented to theshoe reception area 24.

In the next step, shown in FIG. 7, the free ends 84, 86 of the shoelace78 are secured in cleats 38, 40, respectively. As described above, thecleats 38, 40 are designed to hold the free ends 84, 86, respectively,so that tension is created in the shoelace 78. The free ends 84, 86 arepulled until the slipknot 82 has a desired tightness.

In the next step, shown in FIG. 8, free end 86 is removed from cleat 40and routed over anchor 44 and against hook 34, then under anchor 44 andconnecting member 70, and then back into engagement with cleat 40. As aresult of this movement, a shoelace portion 88, which is defined betweenslipknot 82 and free end 86, is hooked around hook 34 and abuts againstthe left side of anchor pin 62. The free end 84 of the shoelace 78remains secured in cleat 38 which maintains tension in the slipknot 82.

In the next step, shown in FIG. 9, the free end 84 of the shoelace 78 isdisengaged from cleat 38 and routed beneath connecting members 66, 70,up and around anchor 42, against hook 36, and then back into engagementwith cleat 38. This movement results in a shoelace portion 90, which isdefined between knot 82 and free end 84, being routed around anchor 42and into engagement with hook 36.

In the next step, shown in FIG. 10, handle 72 is pulled away from theplatform 14, as designated by arrow 92. This causes an equal yetopposite movement of handle 68 away from the platform 14. Moreparticularly, as handle 72 is pulled in direction 92, hook 34 is pulledin the same direction. Hook 36 is pulled in the opposite direction. Thetension in the shoelace 78 causes the anchors 42, 44 to pivot in aclockwise direction, signified by arrows 94 and 96. This rotationalmovement of the anchors 42, 44 causes the portions 88, 90 to slide alongthe anchors 42, 44. It is noted that each rack 48, 50 includes a rackstop 97, 99, respectively, that limit how far the handles 68, 72 may betranslated away from one another.

With continued movement of the handles 68, 72 and thus hooks 34, 36, theshoelace portions 88, 90 will slide completely off the anchors 42, 44,as shown in FIG. 11. When the shoelace portions 88, 90 have slidcompletely off the anchors 42, 44, the tension placed on the anchors 42,44 will be removed and the spring bias of the anchors 42, 44 will causethe anchors 42, 44 to return to their default positions against stops101 and 103.

As further shown in FIG. 11, the aforementioned movement of the hooks34, 36 causes loops 98, 100 to be formed in the shoelace 78 as well as aconventional knot 80. The size of the loops 98 depends on how far handle72 is moved away from the platform 14 and the amount of slack in theshoelace 78 between the free ends 84, 86 and the slipknot 82. The cleats38, 40 prevent the free ends 84, 86 of the shoelace 78 from being pulledback through the knot 80 as the hooks 34, 36 continue to be pulled awayfrom the knot 80.

In the next step, which is shown in FIG. 12, handle 72 is pushed backtoward the platform 14, as represented by arrow 102. This reversemovement is necessary to release the tension between the hooks 34, 36and the shoelace 78. With the tension released, the loops 98, 100 can bedisengaged from the hooks 34, 36 respectively, by movement of the loops98, 100 away from the hooks 34, 36, as represented by arrows 104 and106, respectively. It is preferred that the handle 72 is pushed indirection 102 back to its initial position, shown in FIG. 6. Such amovement resets both hooks 34 and 36. The free ends 84, 86 may then bereleased from their respective cleats 38, 40 and the shoe S pulled awayfrom the shoelace tying apparatus 10 resulting in a conventionalshoelace tying knot 80, as illustrated in FIG. 13.

The aforementioned steps may then be repeated, as needed, for the othershoe. It will thus be appreciated that the present invention may be usedto tie the shoelaces of a conventional shoe, including athletic, casual,business, and formal shoes. Thus, the present invention is particularlyadvantageous for users with limited hand dexterity who wish to wearconventional shoes without the need for caregiver assistance or specialshoelaces.

In one alternate embodiment, the shoelace typing apparatus includes afixed base and the shoe platform is movable along the stand arm. Thisalternate embodiment allows the shoe platform to be raised toaccommodate users who have difficulty in bending fully to otherwise usethe shoelace tying apparatus.

Many changes and modifications could be made to the invention withoutdeparting from the spirit thereof. The scope of these changes willbecome apparent from the appended claims.

1. A shoelace tying apparatus for tying the shoelace of a shoe,comprising: a shoe platform for receiving the shoe; an arm extendingupwardly from the shoe platform; a tying platform connected to the armand spaced from the shoe platform to define a shoe reception area; apair of axially reciprocating hooks supported by the tying platform; ananchor supported by the tying platform; and a pair of lace end retainerssupported by the tying platform; and wherein through a predefinedsequence of movements of securing free ends of the shoelace to the laceend retainers, anchoring a free end about the anchor, and movement ofthe hooks, a double-loop knot is formed in the shoelace.
 2. Theapparatus of claim 1 further comprising a gear arrangement and whereinthe pair of hooks are associated with the gear arrangement such thatmovement of one hook automatically causes an equal, but oppositemovement of the other hook.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 furthercomprising a gear cover connected to the tying platform and defining anenclosure for the gear arrangement.
 4. The apparatus of claim 2 whereinthe gear arrangement includes a first rack associated with the one hookand a second rack associated with the other hook and a pinion configuredto translate the first and the second racks in opposite axialdirections.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the anchor includes ananchor pin against which one free end of the shoelace is held when theone free end of the lace is secured in a corresponding retainer.
 6. Theapparatus of claim 1 further comprising an extension arm selectivelyconnectable to the arm extending upwardly from the shoe platform toexpand the range of positions at which the tying platform can bepositioned above the shoe platform.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1 furthercomprising a slip retardant affixed to a top surface of the shoeplatform.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a colletinterconnecting the tying platform to the arm.
 9. The apparatus of claim8 further comprising a handle associated with the collet and operativeto selectively release the collet from engagement with the stand arm toallow repositioning of the tying platform with the stand arm.
 10. A shoetying device for tying a shoelace having a first and a second free end,comprising: a first anchor and a second anchor, the first anchorconfigured to secure the first free end of the shoelace and the secondanchor configured to secure the second free end of the shoelace; a firstloop forming element and a second loop forming element; a rack andpinion arrangement including a first rack connected to the first loopforming element and a second rack connected to the second loop formingelement; wherein: rotation of the rack induced by lateral movement ofone loop forming element causes equal and opposite lateral movement ofthe other loop forming element; and movement of the loop formingelements from a first position to a second position causes a pullingforce to be applied to both free ends of the shoelace such that a firstloop is formed in the first free end of the shoelace and a second loopis formed in the second free end of the shoelace and a knot formedbetween the loops.
 11. The device of claim 10 further comprising a firstretainer configured to tightly hold the first free end of the shoelaceduring movement of the loop forming elements from the first position tothe second position and a second retainer configured to tightly hold thesecond free end of the shoelace during movement of the loop formingelements from the first position to the second position.
 12. The deviceof claim 11 wherein the retainers prevent movement of the free ends ofthe shoelace in one direction but allow movement of the free ends of theshoelace in an opposite direction.
 13. The device of claim 10 whereinthe first anchor includes a first stopping pin against which the firstfree end is held and the second anchor includes a second stopping pinagainst which the second free end is held.
 14. The device of claim 10further comprising a tying platform and wherein the first and the secondanchors, the first and the second loop forming elements, and the rackand pinion arrangement are carried by the tying platform, and furthercomprising a base variably spaced from the tying platform by an uprightarm.
 15. The device of claim 14 further comprising a colletinterconnecting the tying platform to the arm, and wherein the colletmay be slid along the upright arm to position to the tying platform at auser-desired height relative to the base.
 16. The device of claim 14further comprising a strip of slip resistant material secured to a topsurface of the base.
 17. The device of claim 14 wherein the first andthe second anchors are pivotably mounted to the tying platform such thatthe anchors may deflect as the loops are formed in the free ends of theshoelace.
 18. A knot tying apparatus for forming a double-loop knot whenpresented with a slip knot, the apparatus comprising: a pair ofreciprocating hooks adapted to hold respective loops of a shoelace inwhich the slip knot has been formed; a rack and pinion arrangementconnected to the pair of reciprocating hooks and configured to causemovement of one of the pair of reciprocating hooks in response tomovement of the other one of the pair of reciprocating hooks; and a pairof retainers configured to securely hold the free ends of the shoelacesuch that the double-loop knot is formed in the shoelace as thereciprocating hooks are moved away from one another.
 19. The knot tyingapparatus of claim 18 further comprising a pair of anchor points againstwhich the free ends of the shoelace are held as the hooks are moved awayfrom one another.
 20. The knot tying apparatus of claim 18 wherein theretainers prevent movement of the free ends of the shoelace in onedirection yet allow movement of the free ends of the shoelace in anopposite direction.